


The Road to Llynder

by HanukoYoukai



Series: Marvel/Final Fantasy AU [1]
Category: Final Fantasy, Iron Man (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Canon-Typical Violence, Crossover, Final Fantasy - Freeform, Gen, Marvel - Freeform, Tags May Change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-10
Updated: 2020-08-20
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:55:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23579515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HanukoYoukai/pseuds/HanukoYoukai
Summary: Anthony Stark's Kingdom has been taken in a coup led by a former ally. Now with the aid of the King's Knight, Rhodes, he must embark on a journey to Ibarna's sister kingdom Llynder to rejoin his wife and child and come up with a means to save his Kingdom. Rhodes can't take him there alone, though. With how easy it is to recognize the king, they must use another means to safely travel across the land.Enter Peter Parker, adventurer, treasure hunter, and airship captain extraordinaire. A master of smuggling, he's the ideal candidate for taking the king to safety.That is, as long as the Goblin doesn't find Peter on the way.
Relationships: James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark (mentioned), Peter Parker & Gwen Stacy, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: Marvel/Final Fantasy AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1697338
Comments: 28
Kudos: 26





	1. Enhanced?

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!
> 
> So, I was listening to Final Fantasy soundtracks while I was writing one of my other fics, and I wondered what it would be like to drop these crazy kids in a Final Fantasy universe. 
> 
> I have to say, I've been having a bit of fun with this one.
> 
> This will be one piece to a long, overarching story. It will be told in parts (hopefully in order) and each piece will kind of play out like the arcs in the video games. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

Tony glanced over his shoulder nervously as he followed his best friend into a dingy, worn out building. In the dim lights, he could see a wooden bar with a couple of patrons staring wistfully into their half-empty glasses. Rhodey tugged Tony behind him to an open table and shoved him into a chair. Outside, it was bleak. Soldiers dressed as his own stood sentry all over town, and there were several at the gates monitoring the traffic that went in and out.

“Don’t look around so much,” he whispered. “You stick out like a sore thumb.”

“Of course I stick out,” Tony hissed, glancing over his shoulder again. Rhodey smacked his hand to pull his attention back to him. “I’m the _king,_ Rhodey. There’s a statue of me in the town square!” Tony reached up to pull his cloak down, but Rhodey stopped him.

“Keep your hood up,” he said, quietly. “You still fit in, here,” he gestured towards several people throughout the space who had their hoods over their heads or their collars turned up. “People will probably think you’re a mage.”

“I can’t imagine a worse thought for people to have about me,” Tony grumbled.

“Tones,” Rhodey whispered, his mouth turning down in concern, “just keep it together, alright? I know a guy who knows a guy. I’m going to get you out of here.” The King’s Knight leaned back in his chair. His deep, dark eyes reflected his conviction.

“That’s another thing,” Tony said heatedly, “I never agreed to leaving. If I go, Obadiah wins. And what about Pepper and Morgan? I can’t leave them behind—”

“Romanoff has them,” Rhodey said easily. “They’re going to meet us at the rendezvous point. It was safer to get all of you out this way.” Rhodey gripped Tony’s hand and gave him a very level stare. “They’re okay, Tony. Romanoff is a quicker fighter than me, and they took the safer way out. They’ll be fine.”

“I need my armor,” Tony said, fingers twitching as he pulled away from Rhodey.

“They’ll knock you out of the sky so quick, you won’t know what hit you,” Rhodey said flatly. “They’re prepared for Iron Man. Right now, we retreat. We’ll regroup and plan our next steps once you’re safe.”

“But—”

“But nothing,” Rhodey said as he folded his strong arms over his chest. Tony could tell his knight wasn’t going to budge. He stroked his short beard and sighed in resignation.

“Excuse me, gents,” a nasal voice said. They both looked up to see a very small lady with dark hair and blue eyes frowning at them, “is you ordering, or is you just gonna sit there and look pretty? Because this here is a place o’ business, not a social club—”

“Darcy,” another woman said as she came by. She had a scandalized look on her face and she narrowed her brown eyes at the other woman. “Don’t be rude! Go on, Erik needs some help,” the new woman said, shooing the younger girl away. The other girl went with a roll of her eyes and the older woman stood in her place.

“I’m so sorry, sirs,” she said, kindly, a warm smile gracing her face. “We’re all just a bit nervous with the ruckus the guards are making outside.” Her voice had a bit of a lower city accent, but it was nowhere near as strong as Darcy’s. The new lady clearly had a smidge of vocal training, or was at least a fairly good mimic. “I’m Jane, the owner of this tavern. What can I get for you?”

Tony opened his mouth to tell her exactly what he thought of her rude employee but Rhodey cut him off. “Well Madam Jane,” he said smoothly, “We were hoping for a pint of your draught for each of us and a pitcher of water, as well as one of those meat pies this place boasts about.”

The lady nodded, “Alright, sir, I’ll have them whip that up for you straightaway,” she said, turning back to the bar. Rhodey caught her hand. Her eyebrows furrowed and she glanced at their clasped hands.

“Some gil for your trouble, madam,” he said, lowering his own brow, “and your discretion.” The lady nodded and walked away. Tony could see a small note clutched in her hand.

“What are you doing?” Tony hissed. The woman reached the bar and turned around, hunched over the paper Rhodey slipped her. “We don’t even know her! How can you trust a total stranger?”

“Tony,” Rhodey said, pinching the bridge of his nose, “there is a reason I picked this tavern, okay? Just calm down.”

“Calm down? You can’t even tell me what she can do to help us get out of here—”

“She can’t do much,” Rhodey interrupted. “But she deals with this kind of thing all the time.” Jane turned around and caught Rhodey’s eyes, giving him a single nod. “alright,” Rhodey smiled. “Now we wait.”

Tony drummed his fingers on the table nervously. “Okay, let’s say this crazy plan you have—and I’m still mad you won’t tell me what it is, by the way—let’s say it works and we get out of town. Then what?”

“Shhh,” Rhodey said, adjusting his weapons. “Let me worry about that.”

“You know, I just love it when you take charge,” Tony said, sarcastically. “It makes me all tingly.” Rhodey stared at him without even twitching at Tony’s remark. Tony huffed and leaned back in his chair.

“Gentlemen.” Tony looked up, startled. Jane had managed to sneak back over to their table without him noticing. “The room you asked about is ready. Everything you asked for is waiting for you there.”

“Everything?” Rhodey asked. Both men stood.

Jane nodded. “Everything.”

“Thank you, madam,” Rhodey said, bowing his head respectfully. He glanced back at Tony who followed suit.

“If you’ll come this way,” she said, walking them toward the other side of the room. They followed her until she stopped at the bottom of a set of stairs. “First door on your left. It’s open.”

Rhodey and Tony climbed the stairs, and Tony tried not to look over his shoulder. _Casual,_ he thought. _Just be casual._ They reached the aforementioned door, cracked slightly open. Rhodey pushed it inward and stepped inside, gesturing for Tony to come in after him. Once Tony was in the room, Rhodey shut the door, putting up a barrier between them and the rest of the world, with the exception of the other occupant who was sitting at the small, round table, drinking from one of the flagons. His dark, salt-and-pepper hair was swept back away from his face in strange, pointed tufts. His eyes were narrowed, studying the pair of them. He had scruff along his jaw, and Tony could tell he was a large man, even though he was hunched in on himself. The king swallowed nervously as Rhodey led him to the other chairs at the table.

“Jane said you needed a word,” the man said, gruffly. “The name’s Logan, but most call me the Wolverine.”

“I’m Rhodes, one of the knights of Ibarna _,_ ” Rhodey said, smoothly, extending his hand. Logan carefully took it and shook it slowly, as if such courtesies were not usually offered to him. “I hear you know someone that can get us out of town very quietly. Is that true?”

“Depends,” Logan said, shrugging after leaning back in his chair. “Who’s your friend?”

“No one of consequence,” Rhodey said quickly.

Logan raised an eyebrow then let out a humorless chuckle. “Right. Well, the guy I’m gonna send you to will need to know, bub. If he’s smuggling one of his own enemies, he’s gonna be real mad.”

“I didn’t know the Captain could get mad,” Rhodey said, folding his arms over his chest. Logan barked out a laugh at that.

“The Captain? Who said anything about the Captain?” he chortled. “Nah, he’s flying straight. Got out of this racket. Works in our sister kingdom as an _actual_ captain of the guard. Who’d of thought?”

Rhodey’s eyes widened. “Wait—but who—”

“And trust me, the Captain gets plenty mad. He’s just got a quiet rage to him. You don’t want to get on the other end of his shield when he’s got that cold look in his eyes, though,” Logan scratched absently at his shoulder. “As for you, well, show me yours and I’ll show you mine,” the man finished with a shrug.

Rhodey frowned fiercely. Tony rolled his eyes and leaned forward, pulling down his hood. “I’m Tony,” he said. “Short for Anthony. As in Anthony Stark. You know. The guy who sits on that big chair in the castle?”

“Tony!” Rhodey growled, glaring at him. Logan looked at them thoughtfully.

“Never had to deal with a King before,” he murmured. “Never had his ear before, either. What do you think of the Enhanced?” Logan asked. Tony could feel the question was loaded. He wracked his brain, trying to figure out who The Enhanced were.

“I… need you to elaborate,” he responded.

Logan frowned. “What needs elaborating?”

“Well who are they? A terrorist organization? Freedom fighters? Salesmen? What?”

“They’re… enhanced.” Tony stared at Logan blankly. “You know, they have powers,” the gruff man added.

“What, the mutants?” Tony asked, scoffing. Logan looked on thoughtfully. “I don’t even know if they’re real. I’ve never seen one, as far as I know.”

“Enhanced is preferred,” Logan said with a shrug. “And if I told you that I know, with absolute certainty, that they were real, what would you think?”

“First off, I don’t believe in anything I don’t see with my own eyes,” Tony said, tapping his fingers against his knees. “But if I actually saw a mutant or enhanced person or whatever you want to call it, I wouldn’t know what to think. As long as they didn’t mean me any harm, I figure we’d be fine.”

“There are a lot of leaders who are scared of them. Try to lock them up the first chance they get,” Logan replied. His eyes narrowed as he watched Tony.

“Well,” Tony said shaking his head, “I’m not them, am I? Right now, there’s someone that I’m ninety-nine percent certain _isn’t_ a mutant who planned a coup to get my throne. It’s not ability someone should be frightened of. It’s intent.”

Logan nodded. “Well, I still want to be sure before I offer you any kind of passage,” he said. “Let me show you why they call me the Wolverine.” Tony tilted his head to the side as Logan lifted his hand and formed a fist. After a moment of silence, Tony heard the sound of flesh being torn open. He slid his chair back, startled, as three, long, sharp metal blades slid out between Logan’s knuckles. They glinted in the candlelight, and Tony could not see a hint of blood on them.

“What the—”

“Gods above,” Rhodey whispered. He had leaned forward, fascinated by the transformation. Logan glanced over at him and sneered, retracting the blades. Tony felt his heart pounding in his chest at the display. He had heard about mutants for most of his life. His own father thought the kingdom may need protection from such creatures, but he never finished designing the sentinels that would guard them. Tony used to be grateful for this: the designs relied heavily on minerals that were needed to make the machinery and weapons that were often exported out of the city. The machinists wouldn’t be able to operate as well as they did without them, and their work made the city thrive as well as it did. Now though, knowing that mutants were real, and that those giants may be needed to keep his walls safe—

He shook himself. Didn’t Tony just say he didn’t care what someone could do as long as they wouldn’t hurt him or his people? Logan eyed him warily. Tony could see from his body language that he was ready to spring. He was more worried about Tony than Tony ever could be of him.

“Why are they metal?” he asked, quietly.

Logan hesitated before answering, then relaxed a fraction. “Because some whack job thought it would be a good idea to replace my skeleton an extremely strong metal,” he said flatly. Tony’s mouth dropped open slightly. “Hey, there are perks,” Logan said with a shrug. “My bones don’t break, now. That’s something.”

“What,” Tony spluttered. “Why would someone do that?”

“Because I’m enhanced. Or a mutant. Whatever you want to call it,” Logan said, his hazel eyes piercing Tony’s. “Because I’m less. Because they could. I didn’t volunteer for anything. I just happened to be taken by surprise. But that’s life for people like me. We have to be vigilant, or we end up as super soldiers in whatever kingdom can pay for us.” Tony shuddered at the bluntness of Logan’s tone. His reality was a harsh one, and was something Tony had no idea how to relate to. “You though,” Logan continued, “well, I’ve got a good feeling about you. Don’t make me regret it, Your Majesty.”

Tony swallowed and nodded. Rhodey looked back and forth between them. “So,” he began again, “I hear you know someone that can get us out of town very quietly. Is that true?” Tony chuckled at the doggedness of his best friend.

“Yeah, I know somebody,” Logan replied, smirking. “You gotta pay my coin, then you gotta pay his. For me to give you his name, it’s one hundred gil. For me to take you to him it’s an extra two hundred gil.” Rhodey and Tony both nodded. It made sense that there’d be a fee for the information. “For him to take you to our sister kingdom, it’ll be around a thousand gil.”

“A thousand?” Rhodey asked, surprised. Tony wasn’t sure what Rhodey was worried about. That was something he could easily pay. Maybe normal transport between the two cities cost less—Tony didn’t really know.

“Each,” Logan replied smoothly. “And that’s only if you want to go as far as Llynder. Any farther, and he may name a higher price.”

“And his price has nothing to do with who he’s transporting, huh?” Rhodey asked, narrowing his eyes.

“Look, bub,” Logan said, crossing his arms over his chest, “I’m not gouging you because you’ve got a king on the run, but you need to understand the position you’ll be putting him in. Normally he’d charge you five hundred each, but when you add secrecy on top of it, the price increases a bit. With the kind of heat on your backs that you have, well, people like us have to plan for that sort of thing. It’s dangerous, smuggling highly known officials places. If someone caught him and claimed you were kidnapped, he’d see an executioner’s blade before you could blink.” Logan sighed and looked away. “If you’re not prepared to pay that much, then he probably can’t help you.”

Rhodey looked over at Tony, lowering his brows in thought. Tony shrugged. He had that kind of money on him, easy. If Rhodey had planned to take them to Llynder, Tony already knew they could get in touch with his old teacher and be safe with him, at least temporarily. Obadiah didn’t know Tony still kept in touch with Dr. Pym. It would help to know where Rhodey sent his wife and child before he agreed to anything.

“Rhodey,” Tony murmured. “I think I’d like to know your plan, now.”

“Well, now’s not a good time for details, Tony,” Rhodey replied in an equally low voice. He gestured at Logan with his head, who was not hiding the fact that he was listening to every word. The smuggler smirked when they both looked over at him. “But we can make our own way from Llynder if we have to,” he said, turning his face so Logan couldn’t see it and winking at Tony. Tony sighed and nodded.

He pulled out his purse. “Three hundred total, right?” he asked, counting out the coins. Logan nodded.

“What happens next?” Rhodey asked as Tony handed over the money.

“Next, you eat your pie and tell the Lady Jane whatever supplies you’ll need and give her the funds for it,” Logan said, standing up. “We’ll leave at sunset.”

* * *

Peter sighed, leaning back in the crow’s nest of his airship. The sky had already lost its pink tinge and the periwinkle of twilight had fallen over them, casting the ship in an eerie light. Below, his crew were lighting the lamps, knowing company would be coming. He scratched the old scar on his neck as he peered upwards, waiting for the first stars to appear. There was something so soothing about nightfall. He couldn’t really describe it, but ever since the bite he felt more at peace with things at night. There was a safety in darkness that he had never known before. The velvet of the starlit sky wrapped around him like a blanket. He felt both safer and more capable at the same time.

Most of his friends and crew didn’t really understand. Ned was baffled by it and was still trying to come up with a scientific reason that a spider bite would affect him that way, although Peter thought it was more interesting to find out why a spider bite affected him at all. Johnny was completely clueless. He thrived in the sunlight, so he couldn’t even begin to understand what it was like to feel comfortable at night. Flash figured that as long as Peter could stick to a normal routine, there was no reason to worry about it. Gwen though, she understood. She went through the same thing and said they were blessed by _Arania_ , who thrived in the night, but Peter didn’t think that was the case. Even if it was, he would rather be gifted by Ifrit like Johnny. At least he was less creepy. Peter wasn’t one to argue with a mage, though.

“Peter!” Peter stood up and stretched his arms over his head before looking down at the deck. Gwen waved at him to come down. Peter climbed out of the basket and climbed his way down, avoiding the ladder entirely. He dropped down the last ten feet or so, landing neatly.

“Show off,” Gwen said with a smirk. Her blonde hair looked incredibly dark in the torchlight. The top half of her soft, white and pink robes nearly glowed, but the black fabric from the waist down became harder to discern as night fell. “I can see a torch in the distance. Either it’s our package, or an unfriendly,” her blue eyes glinted. Peter walked over to the side and peered out into the darkness to see an orange flicker in the distance. “Should I scout ahead?”

Peter hummed, tugging his bandana that was tied over his hair. “Yeah,” he said. “If it’s Wolverine, he won’t pay you any mind. He knows your footsteps.” He didn’t need to add that most likely nobody else would hear her. “Bring this with you, though,” he reached into his pouch and grabbed two metal rings. She took them from him and wrapped one around each wrist. “Remember, hit once to shoot, twice to release.”

“I know, Pete,” she said, softly. “I’ve used them before. You need to make me my own set.” Peter felt uneasy at the words, as he always did. He knew Gwen was capable. She had shown it several times. She was strong, too, having survived the same trial as him. He couldn’t help but worry, though, as he always did when he sent his friends to do dangerous tasks. He felt as long as she didn’t have her own pair, she’d stay closer to home. She was becoming more insistent, though, and he would have to give in eventually, or she would take his apart to figure out the design. It didn’t matter that she wasn’t a machinist. She’d still find a way to put something together. “I’ll be careful.”

Peter nodded, smiling at her. “I know you will,” he replied. She covered her face with her temple mask and pulled up her hood before dashing off into the night. Peter watched her go, biting his lip worriedly. He shook himself. This was Gwen. She’d be fine. Besides, she had magic on her side, which was more than Peter could say for himself.

“Ah, that girl,” Flash grinned, walking over to Peter. His dark hair shined in the lamplight, and his deep brown eyes sparkled with mischief. He had his hands shoved deep into the pockets of pants. A thick leather belt was wrapped around his waist and across his shoulder, holding several blades and pouches in place. He wore a thick vest adorned with pockets over his white linen shirt.

Peter rolled his eyes. “Flash,” he said, shaking his head. He and Gwen grew up in the same village and served in the same temple. She was smart, funny, and very attractive. He could see why his other friends would like her in a romantic sense. He was ever watchful, though. If one of them even _thought_ to treat her disrespectfully, they’d have to answer to him. He and Gwen looked out for each other, after all.

Flash shrugged. “What? Gwen is amazing. I wish she would give me the time of day.”

“Maybe if you’d quit acting like an asshole, she would,” Ned grinned as he ambled over. “When are you going to make her some webshooters?” he asked. Peter raised an eyebrow at Ned. Ned placed his large hands over his toolbelt, swaying side to side. He wore a heavy set of trousers and a thick leather jacket that would protect his skin from being burnt—a necessity with how much time he spent in the engine room. His goggles sat on top of his thick black hair, and he shrugged at Peter’s expression. “Just a question,” he added on.

Peter sighed and looked back over the edge. “I know,” he said. “I know I should make some for her. I will, soon.” He needed to get over it. He couldn’t make her stay anywhere she didn’t want to, and never could. It worried him though. She was one of the only people he truly trusted. She was the only one that knew what happened to him when—

He shook himself. Best not to think about that, now. _Gwen can take care of herself,_ he thought to himself. _She did it when you were gone, she can do it again._

“So now what?” Flash asked, scuffing his toe along the deck.

“Nothing to do but wait,” Peter replied, eyes on the flickering orange glow in the distance. It looked like it was going to be a long night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm kind of playing with world building here, so I hope you guys like what I'm doing. None of the towns are the same as in any of the final fantasies, but you'll find most (not all) of the gods/espers will be the same, and a lot of elements should be present (mages, how magic works, airships, etc. etc.). I hope I hit those marks okay. 
> 
> Thanks for reading! Please leave a kudos if you were entertained, and I'd love to hear your thoughts, so please feel free to leave a comment!
> 
> Also, if you have questions, comments, prompts, or just want to say hi, please come by my Tumblr! I'm [@hanuko](https://hanuko.tumblr.com/) and I'd love to chat. :-)


	2. First Impressions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _“Wait, your guy is a kid?” That was the stern voice. Peter felt his smile slip a little. He looked over the man who said it and wasn’t too surprised. He was about twenty years Peter’s senior, and Peter was young. No one ever took him seriously unless he had his mask on. There was nothing for it._
> 
> _“My age doesn’t really play a factor in what I do, sir,” he said nonchalantly, tucking the purse in his belt. The man frowned, probably at his tone—or maybe his existence. It was hard to say._
> 
> _“Yeah, sorry, the adults are talking now."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like how it's going. Do you like how it's going? I've been having fun writing this one. 
> 
> Let me know what you think!

Rhodey and Tony followed behind Logan who held a torch just high enough for the three of them to see with. They had exited the woods and were now in a clearing, and Rhodey was just barely masking his irritation. Their only saving grace was that they were surrounded by craggy rock formations. They would be difficult to spot and had several places they could hide. Of course, that meant any potential threats to them could hide too.

Rhodey kept glancing around, hypervigilant of the new landscape. He hadn’t been out this way since he had trained several new knights. He kicked himself for not memorizing the layout more. It was practically right outside their walls! Rhodey paused as he saw a glimmer of white pass through the rocks.

“Stop,” he hissed. Tony paused and looked back with a frown. Logan sighed and stopped as well, looking back at them, raising an irritated brow.

“We need to get a move on,” Logan growled. Rhodey shushed him and listened carefully. There was a tiny snap in the distance that had him pulling out his gun. Designed by Tony himself, the rifle had the ability to shoot projectiles and to harness the energy from the minerals used to power their armor. Rhodey carefully spun in a half circle, ready to fire.

“Bub—”

“Quiet,” Tony hissed sharply. Rhodey stilled. He tensed, listening to every chirp of every insect, interjected with the breaths of his companions. Then he heard another little snap.

Rhodey spun and fired, lighting up the dark space between the cracks with a bright, white fire. A figure appeared, ducking behind a rock, narrowly escaping the blast. “I’ve got you!” Rhodey cried, starting to run forward.

“Stop!” Logan bellowed, running back. Rhodey swung around, rifle aimed at Logan’s chest.

“Who was that?” Rhodey snarled. “Are you working with him—”

“Rhodes, calm down!” Tony shouted, eyeing him nervously. “Put your gun away.” Rhodey ignored him.

“I don’t work for her, she’s gonna work for _you,_ ” Logan said, throwing up his hands. Rhodey lowered his eyebrows and relaxed his stance slightly. “Gods,” Logan murmured, raising his head to the sky. “Come on out,” he shouted. “Come on, Gwen, I’m about to get shot, here.”

After a moment of silence Rhodey heard the sound of footfalls behind him. He turned to see a figure shrouded in white and black holding their hands up, hesitantly. They wore a white mask with pink edging along the eyes, and a white hood covered their head, indicating they practiced white magic. Rhodey slowly lowered his weapon and the figured crept forward, staying near the rocks and as far away from Rhodey as possible. When they finally reached Logan, they seemed to relax a bit.

“Interesting friends, Wolverine,” a lilting soprano came from behind the mask, hints of a slight accent coming through. Rhodey figured from their speech the person from _Terra Regina_ , and he was seldom wrong.

“Gentlemen,” Logan said, gesturing to the newcomer, “this young lady is Gwen. She’s one of the people who is going to be shuttling you to where you need to go.”

“Not so sure about that, anymore,” the woman mumbled. Rhodey lowered his gun completely, but he was still suspicious.

“Why are you here?” he asked firmly. “Why were you skulking in the rocks?”

Gwen shrugged. “Needed to check you out,” she replied easily, folding her arms across her chest.

“Oh? And why is that?”

“Needed to find out if you were okay people to transport,” she said. There was no hint of guilt or worry in her tone. She acted as if this was just part of her job, to spy on the people she intended to help.

“Oh really?” Rhodey asked, flatly. “And did you find out what you needed?”

“Not really,” she said, shrugging again. “But I do know that between your short fuse and the way you two have been stomping around out here that we may need to give you a lesson in stealth before we go.”

Rhodey spluttered and readied himself for an angry retort when Tony barked out a laugh. The knight slowly looked over at his friend, mouth dropped when he saw the king stooped over, laughing into his fist.

“Oh Gods, can we keep her?” he asked, grinning. “Come on, honey bear. Say we can keep her.”

The girl shook her head. “I belong myself only,” she said fiercely. “I will not be _kept._ You’d do well to remember it.” Tony put his hands up in surrender, still grinning.

“Will do, miss. Will do. So can you take us to wherever we need to go? Do I pay you right now? Let’s get this going.” Rhodey raised his eyes heavenward. _Gods,_ he prayed, _please give me the strength to get Tony to Llynder without strangling him._

The girl cocked her head and then looked over to Logan, who shrugged.

“How about you follow me to my ship, and we’ll conduct our business there,” she replied. She started moving forward and the three of them followed. Rhodey frowned as the moved forward, thinking about her words from earlier.

“She,” he began, hesitantly, “she’s going to take us to Llynder still, right?” Logan smirked back at him.

“Well, luckily for you, she’s not the one who’s gonna make that decision.”

Rhodey swallowed. The mage paused, then murmured something softly, cupping her hands together. Bright pink light started to form in her hands, taking the shape of a spider. She pulled her hands apart and the spider flew forward, disappearing into the darkness. Logan clicked his tongue.

“What’s wrong?” Rhodey asked, suddenly nervous.

“Well,” Logan said as they resumed going forward, “she just gave a little warning to the captain about you.” Rhodey’s heart thudded in his chest. “He’s not going to be very happy you shot at her, considering they’re family.”

* * *

Peter sighed, cupping Gwen’s glowing spider in his hands. Pink was a warning. Peter needed to be cautious. She didn’t trust her own senses about them. He would have to get a feel for them himself.

“So what do the rest of us do?” Flash asked, cracking his knuckles nervously. Ned paced behind him, worried.

“You go and bunk down with Johnny,” Peter said. Johnny was out for the count right now. That last encounter they had in the badlands really took it out of him. “He’s the most vulnerable right now. If anything goes down, you need to protect him.”

“But Peter,” Ned asked as he stopped walking, “what about you? We can’t leave you to face these guys alone if they are trouble.”

“I’ll have Gwen with me,” Peter responded. “Captain’s orders. Go.” Ned frowned stubbornly and Flash folded his arms over his chest. Neither of them budged. “Guys,” he said in a stern tone, “I am in top shape. Johnny isn’t. Me and Gwen have this, but we can’t be worrying about Johnny while dealing with a potential threat.”

Ned bit his lip before nodding. “Alright, Peter.”

“What?” Flash exclaimed, rounding on Ned. “No way! Look here, bug boy, I don’t care if you think you can handle this. You need extra muscle up here just in case. If Gwen is nervous, we should all be nervous. Johnny may be hurt, but he can still fight if he has to, and Ned can help—”

“Not if we need to make a quick getaway,” Peter said, evenly. “You know he can get this girl in the air faster than anybody, just by fiddling with the engine.” Flash frowned harshly. “Flash, I need you to have Johnny’s back so that Ned can get us out of here. We don’t know what’s going to go down, so we need to prepare for that.”

Flash scowled and huffed a little. “Fine,” he muttered, “but you better let us know the second you smell trouble so we can be ready to fight!”

Peter chuckled. “Come on, you’re always ready for a fight.” Flash shoved his shoulder before he and Ned climbed down through the hatch that led to their bunks.

“Tones, I swear—” Peter craned his head, listening to the voices that were heading toward his ship.

“Honey bear, it seems like we’re in enough trouble—”

“Gods, you are the _worst—”_

“So maybe you tell me the plan and let me do the talking from now on, huh? Because you know, offending the people we’re asking for help—”

“She snuck up on us! What was I supposed to do?”

“Maybe not pull out your gun and shoot at her.”

“Well I didn’t hit her, did I?”

Peter’s eyes widened as he listened to the bickering, and after he got over his terror that Gwen had nearly been hurt, the implications of what the men said dawned on him. No wonder Gwen was nervous. They were sharp to have noticed her. Maybe too sharp. If they almost shot her in full dark while she was spying on them, they had to be good. It made Peter uneasy. Men that good did not usually come to him for smuggling. They were usually looking for him.

“You wait here,” he heard Gwen say. “I need to talk with my captain. I require half the payment in good faith—”

“You require half of it? How do we know you’re not going to run off—”

“We also haven’t actually negotiated a proper sum—”

“Gods, will you just shut up,” Logan growled. “Give her half of the top of the limit I told you.”

“But that’s—”

“Rhodey, that’s enough.” The playful tone that was in this man’s voice was gone. Peter frowned at its sudden sternness. He got the feeling that was not the kind of person he wanted to argue with. “Here,” Peter heard the sound of coins jingling together. “Now go talk to your boss so we can get this show on the road.”

Peter waited where he was, arms folded over his chest as Gwen’s head appeared over the side of the rail. She climbed over gracefully and walked toward Peter, holding out a sack of coins. It was larger than he was accustomed to seeing. Peter raised an eyebrow and took it, opening it slowly. He gaped at the contents.

“Gwen,” he said hoarsely, “this is hundreds of gil—this is way more than half our usual payment!”

“Really?” she asked, peering into the bag as well. She looked up at him, gazing at him through the blank, wide-eyed face of her mask.

Peter shook himself. “What’s wrong with them? Did they set off your senses?”

Gwen shook her head. “Not really, no. Just when the one tracked me and tried to shoot me. Once he realized I wasn’t dangerous, he didn’t feel like a threat anymore. But he was good, Peter. Too good.”

“Do they seem like Osborn’s goons?” he asked, frowning. Gwen shrugged.

“I don’t know,” she replied. “You would know better than me.”

Peter sighed and nodded, rubbing absently at the scar on his neck. “Alright,” he said. “I’ll check them out.”

Together, they moved down the ladder to the grass below, both careful not to expose their powers to the three in the field below. Peter knew Logan knew about them, but he didn’t want to take any chances with the newcomers. Peter smiled as he approached, figuring it couldn’t hurt to be friendly.

“Wait, your guy is a kid?” That was the stern voice. Peter felt his smile slip a little. He looked over the man who said it and wasn’t too surprised. He was about twenty years Peter’s senior, and Peter _was_ young. No one ever took him seriously unless he had his mask on. There was nothing for it.

He tossed the bag of coins in the air and caught it, staring at the man head on. He had cropped dark hair and a neatly trimmed beard, light skin, and dark eyes. He was slightly taller than Peter, and he stood straight, raising a disbelieving eyebrow at Peter’s very appearance. Peter wasn’t sure why, but there was something vaguely familiar about him. It was almost as if Peter had seen him, but he couldn’t place his face.

“My age doesn’t really play a factor in what I do, sir,” he said nonchalantly, tucking the purse in his belt. The man frowned, probably at his tone—or maybe his existence. It was hard to say.

“Yeah, sorry, the adults are talking now,” he replied, folding his arms. He turned back to Logan. “That’s a child.”

Peter sighed, glancing over at Gwen. She had her body closed off. She looked between Peter and the new men, tilting her head at them. Peter rolled his eyes at her before he examined the speaker’s companion.

He stood straight and tall. His head was bald and his eyes were as dark as his skin. His brows were low, gazing at Peter with intent. He was not someone to be trifled with, Peter was certain. Peter let out a careful breath and closed his eyes, trusting Gwen to have his back if something happened that he couldn’t sense.

“What’s he doing, now?” the first man asked.

Logan let out a raspy chuckle. “He’s feeling you out,” he replied. The man spluttered a little, and Peter wondered what kind of face Logan was making. He smirked a little at the thought. “What, you thought I was the only one?”

“The only one what?” That was the other voice he heard earlier. It had to belong to the more serious man.

“My enhancement is just a bit more visible,” Logan replied. Peter held in a sigh. He supposed this was Logan’s way of telling Peter that they didn’t have a problem with the Enhanced, and at least he hadn’t given away all of Peter’s abilities. Peter settled his mind and let his senses stretch around him. The crickets chirps and sang in the grass around them. A subtle breeze rustled the nearby bushes, and he heard the scurrying of small, clawed feet in the earth below. He heard could barely discern heartbeats other than his own. He breathed, slowly and carefully, in and out, letting his senses expand further. The sharp, biting warning sense that would start at the base of his skull and both shoot down his spine and up to the crown of his head was silent.

Peter opened his eyes to see the others staring at him silently. “Yeah, Gwen, they seem fine,” he said smiling at her.

“What?” the first man said, flatly.

“Look, buddy,” Peter said putting his thumbs in his belt and rocking on his heels, “if you want to waste my time, Logan’s time, and your money, you can go ahead and leave. You babbling about how old I am isn’t going to change it, and I figure you went to Logan because you were in a bind.”

“So this is the point of the good faith payment,” the other said. His frown got even deeper and he slowly shook his head.

Peter let out a little huff and shook his head. The purse weighed on him, making his heart heavy with guilt. He had no idea why Logan would say Peter would charge this much, for them to think that amount of coins was half. Even if they were in the noble class, it was hard to suddenly scrape together this much money. He pulled the pouch from his belt and tossed over. The second man caught it and looked at Peter in surprise.

“Yeah, it is,” Peter said. “But then again, I don’t want your good faith payment if you’re not gonna have good faith in _me_.” He rolled his shoulders and stared them down. “It’s true I’m young, but you can’t manage to get your own ship without some skill, so you gotta ask yourself how skilled I have to be to have snagged something like this at my age.” The two looked at each other. Peter knew he was making a smug face. His aunt would be twisting his ear hard if she could see it. “So, what’ll it be, guys? Am I getting you out of town?”

The two glanced at each other again. After a careful nod from his defensive companion, the talkative one let out a little huff. “Yeah, you are.”

“Great!” Peter grinned. “I’m Peter, and this is Gwen,” he gestured over to Gwen. She still wore her mask. She probably wouldn’t take it off until the boarded. “You’ll meet the others in a bit. Who are you?”

The two men stared at him, gaping slightly.

The bearded man opened and closed his mouth a little, clearly lost for words. “You—you don’t know who—”

“I’m Rhodes,” the other man interrupted, holding out his hand. Peter shook it, smiling bemusedly. Peter figured they must be nobles with the way the first man kept sputtering. “This is Tony,” he said. Peter let go of Rhodes' hand and offered it to Tony.

“It’s nice to meet you,” he said. Tony looked down at Peter’s hand, his face scrunching up in what Peter could only think of as disgust. He tried not to let his hurt show as he pulled his hand away. _Nobles,_ he thought. They were always the worst to deal with. No matter. He would do his job with his head held high.

“I’ll leave you here,” Logan said, waving. “Catch you later, Pete.”

“Thanks Logan,” Peter replied. “I’ll see you around.” Logan walked back the way he came, heading towards the city. Tony and Rhodes watched him go before turning back to Peter. Rhodes folded his arms over his chest.

“Now what?” he asked.

“Well,” Peter said, scratching the scar on his neck, “now we get on the ship and you pay me.” Rhodes tossed the purse back at Peter, who caught it deftly. Tony started opening a bag, but Peter waved him off. “Look, let’s worry about the rest after we’re on the ship, okay? I don’t like lingering in open airfields for too long.” Gwen led them to the ladder and started climbing up. Tony went next, followed by Rhodes. Peter went last, and once he was over the edge, he pulled the ladder up behind him.

“Alright kid,” Tony said. “We’re on the ship, let’s negotiate this price.” Peter shrugged and led them to the cockpit. Gwen started to follow but he stopped her. He pulled her aside as the others went inside to explore the space.

“Gwen,” he said quietly, moving them further out of earshot, “I need you to get Johnny back on his feet.”

Gwen frowned. “I prefer him to heal naturally, Peter. Otherwise if he gets hurt when I’m not there, he’ll have more problems healing on his own.” Peter sighed and looked over his shoulder. “Listen,” she continued, “I’m fairly certain he’ll be back up and ready to go by dawn. If he’s not, I’ll heal him again, alright? But I can’t before.”

“Okay,” Peter replied. “I just don’t like being a man down, especially in these circumstances.”

Gwen pulled off her mask and took down her hood, now that the strangers were tucked away in the cockpit. “What do you mean?” she asked, shaking out her blonde hair. “I thought you trusted them.”

“Yeah, they seem okay,” Peter replied, dragging his toe against the wooden flooring of the deck. “My only worry is there’s a reason Logan priced us that high, I just can’t figure out what it is.” Gwen frowned and nodded in agreement. “Look, I gotta talk to them,” he continued. “I don’t think they’ll try to hurt me, and if they do—”

“You’ll have these,” Gwen said, pressing the rings he gave her earlier onto his wrists. He smiled at her.

“Exactly,” he replied. “Tell Ned and Flash to try to rest up. You and I can take watch the rest of the night. Let them know I want to take off close to dawn.”

“Okay, Peter,” Gwen replied, smiling at him before she joined the others below deck. Peter sighed before he turned back to the cockpit. The sooner they could get airborne, the better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun Writing Notes:
> 
> 1\. Final Fantasy is so fun. It's all steampunk and gunblades and air rifles and airships... what's not to like? 
> 
> 2\. I... I love writing Flash. I didn't realize I'd love it until I started, and here we are. 
> 
> 3\. Tony seems touchy, right? Picture the Tony from the first Iron Man, then add about a 100 extra layers of annoying rich guy. He'll get better. He just needs time. 
> 
> I hope you all are enjoying this! I'm having a lot of fun playing around with it. Please leave a kudos if you were entertained, and leave a comment to let me know what you think!
> 
> Also, please come see me at [Tumblr ](https://hanuko.tumblr.com/) if you have questions, comments, or just want to say hi. I'd love to hear from you!


	3. Haunted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Gwen hesitated. “Is it about when you were, uh,_ there? _” Peter sighed. “Look, Peter, you know you can tell me, right? You can tell me if you remember something else Osborn did.”_
> 
> _“Gwen—”_
> 
> _“Because I know it’s scary, and I know the last time, when you told me what you remembered about your scar that I cried, but I can keep myself together if you need to talk."_
> 
> _“Gwen.”_
> 
> _“I won’t think any differently of you, honestly. It would help to talk about it, especially if it’s this bad—”_
> 
> _“Gwen!”_
> 
> _Gwen startled and stopped talking, watching Peter closely. He looked around, rubbing the back of his neck._
> 
> _“It’s about_ you, _okay?”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again. :-) Here's the next chapter. Hope you enjoy!
> 
> Anyone want to randomly draw fanart for this? I would love fanart for this. Not enough to seek it out (for I have no money for commissions), but if I've inspired any of the handful of you that have read it who are artistically inclined... just saying. ;-)

Tony leaned against the side of the ship, his elbow planted on top of the railing. The king cradled his chin in his hand as he stared listlessly at the clouds going past them. The sun had been up for a few hours now, and Tony lost track of the kid who was in charge. Rhodey walked over to him and stood at his side, watching the skyline. Every once in a while, Tony would catch the man’s eyes darting back and forth, as if he were assessing potential threats. The young people on the ship seemed alright, just wandering around, doing typical maintenance, but none of them were the two Tony met last night. The mage disappeared sometime before twilight, and the boy did preparations on the deck for takeoff by himself, which bothered Tony. He had always flown in airships that operated in tip-top shape, and that was mostly due to the fact that there were enough bodies to ensure a smooth journey. When he saw that the crew only had five members, including the captain, he was worried.

When he mentioned his concerns to the kid (Tony didn’t care if he did own and pilot this ship, Tony could not call that kid captain), Peter just chuckled and waved him off. Dawn was fast approaching and he was finishing his side of preparations when the others came topside. More children. In addition to the mage (who revealed herself to be a _very_ young woman with pale skin, straw colored hair and striking blue eyes), there were three boys who were at that age when one thought they were invincible.

One was rough and tumble, and had an air that said he was always looking for a fight. When the sun finally rose over the horizon, it made his amber-brown skin glow. His dark eyes sparkled roguishly beneath heavy black brows, and his dark hair reflected glints of sunlight. He wore light armor that was disguised as clothes, and the blades on his belt could easily pass for tools at first glance, making him look like less of a threat. It was a clever design. He told them to call him Flash and chatted with Rhodey for a bit before he had to get to the cockpit.

The second boy Tony saw was very large. He had bronze skin and a round, boyish face that was nearly hairless. He wore a pair of machinist goggles on top of his thick, black hair, and he smiled easily at Tony and Rhodey when he came up to greet them and ask their leader for directions. Tony heard the other boy call him Ned.

The third boy was a contrast to the first two. His coloring was similar to the mage’s, except he took on a more golden hue all over, from his blonde hair to his tanned skin. His eyes were a deep blue, and he smiled easily. He stood a little taller than the others on his crew, and he wore a crimson vest, pants and boots all made of the same odd material. His arms were bare. The blonde quickly introduced himself as Johnny—full of confidence and without any worries—before he went about his duties. If Tony had to assess the material his clothes were made of, he would have to say it was fireproof. Both Johnny and Ned looked ready for an explosion. It didn’t soothe Tony’s anxiety at all.

By the time the sun came up, Peter looked worn out. Tony frowned in concern as he watched him putter around, making final adjustments before they could take off. Brown tufts of hair were escaping the red bandana he wore over his head, and his thick eyebrows furrowed over his dark brown eyes in concentration as he finished his preparations. He was oddly pale, considering how much he seemed to work outside, and wore a blue and red jacket and heavy blue pants. He had tight, red gloves on each hand, and his thin boots had a matching color and pattern. He also wore strange metal bracelets that were clasped tightly over his gloves on each wrist. They were too small to be arm guards, but too plain to serve as jewelry. Tony couldn’t quite figure them out.

Once they were in the air, the boy had disappeared, and so had any opportunity to question him about their route, safety, or comfort during the flight. Tony straightened up and stretched, popping his shoulders and back. Between his best advisor betraying Tony and taking over Ibarna, escaping the castle, and taking off towards Llynder, the king was exhausted. It had been a long day.

“What did you find out?” he asked, keeping his voice low. He wasn’t sure who might be listening.

“I think it’s just the five of them,” Rhodey replied, still staring out into open air around them. “It seems like the captain and his engineer rigged up some machinery to fly this thing without a full crew. They’re smart.”

“They’re kids,” Tony replied. He was uneasy having his fate in the hands of someone so young.

“Not really,” Rhodey replied, shrugging. “Younger join the guard.” Tony gaped at him, aghast. “Don’t look so surprised. Not everyone had your kind of upbringing. You have to work to eat, and it’s a handsome commission for someone who has little or nothing. This crew, well, I’m pretty sure they had some low prospects, and they’re smart enough to keep themselves safe as well as effective. This must have been the best path for them.”

“I can’t believe you are sitting here, talking up smugglers,” Tony said, a little perturbed. He never knew Rhodey to be so nonchalant about people who operated outside of the law.

“I’m not talking them up,” Rhodey replied, a small frown on his face. “If we weren’t in such dire straits, I would probably be arresting them.” Tony shook his head and smiled at Rhodey, full of affection. “But needs must,” his friend continued. “Peter knows what he’s doing. He’s leading pretty effectively if you ask me. I was listening to the two guys in the cabin, and they said they were setting a route over the Canyons.”

Tony let out a low whistle. “The Canyons?” It would take them out of their way three days by air, but it was a good idea. There was just enough air traffic that they wouldn’t stick out, but not near as much policing as there would be if they took any of the common routes. It was doubtful Obadiah would have eyes on that particular area.

Rhodey nodded, looking at ease. “Yeah. As long as this bird stays in the air, we have nothing to worry about, and I got a chance to look at the engine room. Those designs are on point. This ship flies just fine.”

“When did you get a chance to look at the engine room?” Tony asked.

“The hothead showed it to me.”

Tony raised a brow. “That kid with all the knives?”

“What?” Rhodey laughed. “No. The blonde one. You know, the one that wears the same kind of suit that a human cannonball does.”

“He’s a hothead?” Tony asked, remembering the friendly greeting he got earlier.

“Well,” Rhodey said, smirking a bit, “he’s just easier to rile up than the mage or the captain.”

Tony rolled his eyes and chuckled. “Don’t tease the kids, honey bear.” He could see it, too. Rhodey, standing there with Johnny, face serious as he told him something ridiculous. He once managed to convince some guards that they were required to cluck like chickens to pay respects to an old friend of Tony’s who was visiting. He and T’Challa had a good laugh about that.

“Come on,” Rhodey said, stepping away from the railing. “We should bunk down. It’s been a long night, and you need to rest.”

Tony waved him off. Rhodey hesitated. “Let me get my bearings. I’ll be fine.” Rhodey frowned, putting on his stern face. Tony sighed. “Either you trust them, or you don’t,” he said easily, stopping Rhodey before he could say anything. “If they’re not trustworthy, we’re screwed either way.”

Rhodey opened his mouth to argue, then closed it. After a long, quiet moment he sighed, putting his hand to his belt. He reached inside a pouch that was tied to it and brought out a glowing disc about the diameter of his hand. “Here,” he said, holding it out to Tony. Tony reached over and let Rhodey drop it into his hand, a sense of relief washing over him. “In case something happens, and only in case something happens. No joy rides right now, Tones. Do you understand me? We can’t risk it.”

Tony nodded solemnly, reaching under his loosened tunic to adhere the disc to his chest. After a twist it clicked into place, connecting with the permanent metal plating outside his heart. Tony took a steady breath, calmed by the faint buzzing over his sternum. If he were caught unawares, his armor would be ready to go in the span of a heartbeat. Only he and Rhodey knew about these models—a housing unit that allowed the armor to grow wherever he needed it. It was extremely difficult to build, and the power these armors contained was nearly unbeatable. Tony couldn’t allow the design to fall into the wrong hands. He didn’t realize Rhodey had grabbed them before they left, but he couldn’t be more thankful. He looked up into his friend’s face, trying and failing to express his gratitude.

Rhodey chuckled and put a warm hand on Tony’s shoulder, gripping it slightly. “Try to get some rest, soon.” Tony agreed and Rhodey wandered back to the hatch that led to the bunk area they had been shown last night. Well, one of the bunk areas. It didn’t look very used. Tony figured when they smuggled people, it was where the guests on the ship slept, and the crew had an area all to themselves. That’s how he would do it, anyway. He looked around after Rhodey left, finding himself alone on the top deck. It seemed everyone was attending to their duties too much to mind him, which meant he could explore unhindered.

Tony poked around the deck, pausing at barrels to check their seals. Most of them were open and didn’t have much to note inside. Some contained nothing, others had dry grain used to make the mushy cereal they ate for breakfast. One held both coiled up ropes and grappling hooks. The most surprising find was the barrel full of Gysahl Greens. Tony wrinkled his nose upon seeing the root vegetable. They kept for a long time, but were not something he would consider eating. After he searched the deck and found no one was coming out to tell him off for it, Tony felt a little safer exploring the lesser known parts of the ship. He wondered how he could get into the engine room. The way Rhodey described it made Tony want to see the ingenuity for himself. He huffed a little, knowing he probably would be stopped before he just stumbled upon it. He glanced toward the main mast and looked up to see a large crow’s nest.

Tony moved towards the mast and started climbing up, wondering if he could pick out the route they were taking from up there. He could probably get a better view of the land down below. He worked his way up with care, glancing down the sheer height of the thing. He didn’t see any safety cables and shook his head. _Kids are so damn reckless,_ he thought as he neared the basket.

This captain-kid though, he gave Tony a run for his money. The way he just threw the thousand gil payment back at them without so much as a how do you do? That was gutsy. Then he offered his hand to Tony to shake, and despite the fact that Tony had been very rude—no one offered to shake his hand anymore—he didn’t even bat an eye and went about his business. He was confident, and though he smiled easily enough, his eyes were steel. Tony couldn’t figure him out. He couldn’t be older than twenty (and Tony was being generous with that estimate), but he commanded the situation with the skill of someone who clearly knew what he was doing. When Tony and Rhodey actually told him who they were, the kid laughed and muttered something about Wolverine making a good guess about his estimate for them. In fact, if Tony hadn’t been looking very, _very_ closely, he would have missed the way Peter blanched slightly at the news. Now that Tony knew he planned on flying them over the Canyons, he would have to start giving credit to him.

He finally reached the basket and started climbing over the edge, then paused at what he saw.

The kid he was just thinking about had disappeared to the topmost part of the ship. He was curled in on himself, sitting up with his head pillowed on his arms that were wrapped around his knees. His shoulders rose and fell slowly in a steady pattern, indicating he was asleep. He let out a snuffled snore.

Definitely asleep, then.

Tony sighed and stood in the basket, large enough for two people to sit inside, wondering what he should do. On the one hand, the kid probably came up here for privacy. It was out of the way and quiet, and Tony would be a fool if he thought the kid expected anyone he didn’t want to look for him to find him there. On the other hand, the kid was sitting on the highest part of the ship without any kind of safety cable, _sleeping._ If they hit one bit of turbulence, that kid could be tossed out, and with the noisy entrance Tony just made, he couldn’t trust that the kid would just wake up on his own. Tony rolled his shoulders, then looked over the edge of the basket, taking in the landscape below. He may as well do what he came up here to do. If he happened to have the opportunity to make sure the kid was safe, there was no reason he shouldn’t take advantage of it.

After a few minutes of staring down at the earth below, picking out the main roadways between towns, Tony heard the boy start to shift and mumble. He looked back, frowning when he saw the kid was twitching. His arms seemed to wrap a little tighter around himself. After a pitiful whimper, Tony stooped down and reached his hand out to try to shake the kid out of whatever nightmare he was having. Peter’s head shot up and his hand caught Tony’s wrist in a tight hold, making the older man wince at the strength of his grip. His eyes were wide open but unfocused, and his mouth was set in a grim line.

“Kid?” Tony asked, pulling his arm away. He couldn’t get out of the grip. “Peter, buddy? I think you’re having a bad dream.”

Then, as suddenly as it happened, the oppressive grip stopped. Peter gasped, sharply, opening his hand so Tony could pull away. He looked around, panicked. Tony made a shushing noise as he rubbed his wrist.

“Hey, it’s okay,” he said, aiming to soothe. “You’re on your ship—in the most ridiculous part, I might add, and you just had a bad dream, okay kid?”

Peter blinked slowly and focused on Tony, panting slightly. His eyes were still wide and panicked, but Tony could see he was starting to calm down.

“To—Your Majesty?” Peter asked, shaking himself a little. He looked down to where Tony was still gripping his wrist. “Did—did I hurt you?”

Tony released his wrist and smiled ruefully. “Tony’s fine. And you just took me by surprise. You’ve got a hell of a grip.”

Peter grimaced and looked away. “Sorry about that,” he mumbled, sheepishly. He rubbed a thick, nasty scar that wrapped from the back of his neck to the side. Tony frowned at the ugly thing, wondering how Peter got it. Peter stood up and stretched, examining the landscape below.

“Want to talk about it?” Tony offered, wincing at how annoying he must sound, doubting the kid would open up to him at all. He hated fretting over things that were completely out of his control, but sometimes he couldn’t help himself.

He hoped Pepper and Morgan were safe.

“About what?” Peter asked, furrowing his brow.

“You’re nightmare. Daymare? Whatever kind of mare you just had.” Tony was trying for nonchalance and he was pretty sure he was failing.

“Uh, no thanks, Tony,” he said, standing up and stretching. He leaned over the side of the crow’s nest and examined the ground.

“So, the Canyons?” Tony offered, trying to fill the silence. Peter looked back with a raised brow, causing Tony to clear his throat. “I heard the route you planned out takes us over the Canyons.”

Peter smirked. “What do you want to know about it?”

* * *

“Did you get any sleep at all?” Gwen asked, nudging Peter. He yawned and blinked blearily at her, giving her a lopsided smile.

“Yeah, sure. Just woke up early,” he replied, shrugging a little as he made an adjustment to the cables in the engine room. Gwen sighed and folded her arms across her chest, examining Peter. He slouched and rubbed his eyes tiredly. She knew he trusted his friends to take care of tasks like this one. Normally when he woke up early, he would just roll over and go back to sleep, knowing the crew would make adjustments as needed. There was only one reason why he wouldn’t attempt to get more rest, especially when they were doing a dangerous mission like this.

“Nightmares?” she asked. Peter stopped fiddling and slumped forward, pressing the heels of his hands to his eyes.

“Gwen,” he whined, sliding his hands up to grip his hair. “Come on, don’t start.”

“Don’t start what?” she asked, nonchalantly, looking at her nails. “Don’t start lecturing you about how important sleep is? Or don’t start asking questions about your nightmares again? Or should I not start worrying over your well-being? I hope it’s not the last one, because that ship sailed a long time ago.”

“Gwen.”

“Peter,” Gwen threw back, planting her hands on her hips. “Come on. You’re too tired to fight me on this, anyway.”

Peter groaned and released his hair, leaning back and crossing his arms. “Alright, what? What are you going to say? Because believe it or not, I did try to get back to sleep. I couldn’t.”

“Yeah, I figured,” Gwen said, shaking her head. “I want you to talk to me, Peter. This has been going on for days, now.”

Peter bit his lip and looked away, shrugging. “Nothing to talk about.”

“What is it? Are you worried about May?” Peter shook his head. “Okay, are you antsy about this job? Because I don’t blame you, Peter, this one is dangerous.”

“No, Gwen. Nothing like that.”

“Okay,” Gwen hesitated. “Is it about when you were, uh, _there?_ ” Peter sighed. “Look, Peter, you know you can tell me, right? You can tell me if you remember something else Osborn did.”

“Gwen—”

“Because I know it’s scary, and I know the last time, when you told me what you remembered about your scar that I cried, but I can keep myself together if you need to talk.”

“Gwen.”

“I won’t think any differently of you, honestly. It would help to talk about it, especially if it’s this bad—”

“Gwen!”

Gwen startled and stopped talking, watching Peter closely. He looked around, rubbing the back of his neck.

“It’s about _you_ , okay?” he mumbled, huffing a little. “But it’s stupid.”

“About me?” Gwen asked.

Peter sighed. “Yeah, you.”

“Can you tell me about it?”

Peter bit his lip, looking thoughtful. “I,” he paused, and to Gwen it looked like he was struggling to let out the words. “I have this dream where you’re falling and I can’t catch you,” he let out in a rush.

Gwen blinked and furrowed her brow. “What?” she asked.

“It’s been happening for a couple of days now,” he went on, slightly panicked. “And I’m just standing there, and you’re falling, but when I reach out, you’re too far away.” He stopped and looked away, shaking slightly. “I can’t catch you.”

Gwen stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Peter, pulling his stiff body to hers. After a moment of resistance, he relaxed and returned her embrace. She smiled into his shoulder. “You worry too much,” she murmured.

“Last time I had a dream like this—”

“I know,” Gwen said seriously. “I know. I remember what happened to that village, and I don’t think it was a coincidence.” She repressed a shiver, remembering the town that was decimated by the Mad Titan. Peter had been dreaming about it for days before it happened, to the point where he felt they should go investigate. When they came upon the smoldering remains, only half the population left, Peter shut down visibly. He hadn’t been seen by the rest of the crew for a day and a half after that because he felt guilty for not arriving sooner. The others brushed his worries away, saying that the dream was coincidence and nothing more. Gwen had always thought differently.

Maybe it was because of her studies. Maybe it was because her mother and father insisted that she develop her skills in magic, and that had opened her up to other possibilities involving the mystical. Maybe it was because Gwen never believed in coincidences. There was something in Peter, something that he gained from the blessing of _Arania_ which was later enhanced by Osborn. For years she had seen firsthand how quickly he noticed danger, sometimes before it even happened. The thought that she had been the focus of his nightmares was terrifying, but worrying over it would do nothing.

“Peter,” she said, pulling away to study his face. Peter was looking down at his shoes in sullen silence. “Peter, please look at me?” Peter raised his head and looked at her, wearing a fierce frown. “Thank you for telling me,” she said sincerely. “Now that I know what’s worrying you, maybe I can help put you at ease.”

Peter huffed and looked to the side. “Gwen, I’m freaking you out—”

“You’re not freaking me out,” she lied. He raised an eyebrow at her, but she didn’t correct herself. “Is that why you were so nervous to let me go off the other night?” Peter bit his lip and nodded. “Pete, there are some things that you can’t control.”

“I can sure as hell try,” Peter grumbled.

“Yeah, you can,” Gwen allowed. “But you’ll be miserable for it. Gods above, we’re _pirates,_ Peter. We’re pirates who work on an airship.”

“I prefer the term treasure hunters,” he smirked back, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes.

“Okay, fine,” Gwen chuckled, “we’re treasure hunters. The point is, we do a dangerous job, and falling is one of the top risks. I know you’re dreaming about it, and I will be more careful than usual. Since you know the details of your dream, maybe that will give you an extra warning before it happens, and that’s _if_ it happens at all.” Peter shrugged and Gwen pulled him into another hug. “I’m not going anywhere, okay? I’m not saying goodbye to you.”

Peter shivered and held her tightly. “Promise?” he asked, quietly, reminding her of the shy boy she knew from the temple.

“Yes,” Gwen said, resolutely. She knew it was foolish to make a promise like this, when there was no way to assure him she could keep it. She would try her hardest though. Her friend had suffered too much loss in his life. She refused to be added to that burden if she could help it.

Peter sighed and pulled away from her, giving her a small smile. “Told you it was stupid.”

“It’s not,” Gwen reassured him. “I’m happy you told me.”

“Thanks, Gwen. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“Oh, you’d manage,” Gwen said, leaning back and examining her nails again. “You’d be hopeless around girls, and would probably insult most of our clients, but you’d manage.”

Peter threw his head back and laughed. “Yeah, because you’re so much better than I am when it comes to women or clients.”

Gwen shrugged. “Glad you think so.” Peter swatted at her shoulder playfully and she dodged him, dancing out of the engine room.

“Are you going to get some more sleep?” she asked.

Peter nodded. “Yeah, once I finish my alterations in here, I’ll go to my bunk,” he said, tugging on a cable. “The Canyons shouldn’t have too much traffic, but if we need to dodge down into them, I want to be ready.”

“Okay,” Gwen said, walking away. “I’m trusting you to get some shut-eye, Peter. If you’re not in you bunk in an hour—”

“I know, you’ll kick my ass,” Peter said, rolling his eyes.

“Glad you see it my way,” Gwen replied, waving at him before walking back to the deck above. On her way up the stairs, she saw Rhodes standing near the railing, fiddling with a disc in his hand. He glanced up at her approach. She smiled and waved as she came up to him, noting that his eyes softened at her greeting. Perhaps she was a bit too harsh with him when she met them.

“Hello, Rhodes,” she said, pausing beside him. He pocketed the disc and straightened up.

“Hello, Gwen,” he replied, somewhat stiffly. Gwen sighed. It looked like he was a long way from being comfortable with her. “Listen,” he said, surprising her. “I want to apologize for my brashness the other night. It was a very stressful day, and I was on edge, but that’s no excuse. I’m sorry for trying to shoot you without knowing your intentions.”

Gwen blinked, momentarily stunned. “That’s okay,” she said, shaking her head a little. “You didn’t actually shoot me. Missed by quite a bit.”

“I know,” Rhodes replied, “but that wasn’t for lack of trying. Regardless, we got off to a bad start, and your crew is undertaking a bit of a daunting task, brining Tony and me to Llynder.”

Gwen smiled. “You’re right, Rhodes. It is daunting. When Peter told me what he agreed to, I just about lost it. But he pointed out that you two needed help, and people shouldn’t be left to struggle if we can do something about it.”

“I’m sure the money helps,” Rhodes chuckled.

Gwen’s smile turned mischievous. “Well, yeah. We’re not stupid. It takes funds to run this thing, you know.” She held out her hand. Rhodes looked down and grasped hers with his in a friendly grip. “Fresh start. I’m Gwen.”

“Rhodes,” the man replied, “but if you want, you can call me Rhodey.”

Gwen grinned outright. “Pleased to meet you, Rhodey.” She let go of his hand. “Have you been given a tour of the ship yet?”

Rhodey shrugged. “We poked around a bit before getting some shut eye. Tony is still resting. That blonde boy let me see the engine room. It’s quite clever.”

Gwen rolled her eyes. “Good thing Peter or Ned didn’t show you. They’d never shut up about the stupid thing.” She assessed, him, looking him up and down. “I get the feeling you’re more of a weapons guy.”

“You have weapons?” he asked, brows raised, and excited twinkle in his eyes.

“What kind of pirates would we be if we didn’t have weapons?” Gwen asked, grinning again. “Come on. I’ll show you.”

“Better be careful,” Rhodey responded, following her across the deck. “What will happen if I find something good?”

“I’m hoping you do,” Gwen said with a smirk. “Taking care of this crew takes a lot of gil. Let’s see if I can take any off your hands.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't think I have any notes for this. I really hope you like it so far. Please leave a kudos if you were entertained, and leave a comment to let me know your thoughts! It's always appreciated, and it's kind of the only acknowledgment I get for writing these, and I truly love them. I love the writer/reader interaction, too. 
> 
> If you have any questions, comments, or just want to say hi and not do it here, please feel free to stop and see me, [ @hanuko](https://hanuko.tumblr.com/) on Tumblr. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	4. Inspection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _“Spider-Man,” Peter corrected._
> 
> _“What?” Tony said flatly._
> 
> _“Here, they know me as Spider-Man,” Peter replied with a shrug. He noticed Tony and Rhodey both glance at the spider emblem on his chest._
> 
> _“Oh great. Spider-Man. You don’t sound like a villain at all.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again!
> 
> For those of you reading this one, sorry it's been so long since my last update. I've never had so many WIPs actively going at the same time, and this one is a little slow-going anyway, considering it is a very self-serving AU. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

The nightmares hadn’t stopped.

  
Gwen knew, too. She was constantly watching him out of the corner of her eye, hovering nearby, ready to send him to his bunk the moment he seemed unable to perform whatever task was at hand. He loved her, but Gods, if she didn’t stop, he was going to tear his hair out. Just like he couldn’t waste time to worry about the what-ifs of this nightmare, she couldn’t waste time to try to get him to stop doing the duties that were necessary to run the ship.

Tony noticed Gwen’s worry. He also watched Peter—the young captain saw how often Tony was observing him—almost always with a touch of concern on his face. It rubbed Peter the wrong way. This wasn’t the first time he took on a passenger that didn’t trust Peter’s capabilities, and it wouldn’t be the last. He gritted his teeth and tried to bear it with as much good humor as possible.

Peter bit back a yawn as he pulled his heavy coat and pants off, leaving himself only in his armor. He tied his mask over his face, then followed up with his usual bandana he wore to cover his hair. Finally, he placed his opaque goggles over his eyes, adjusting them so no skin could be seen through the mask. Once he loaded some new web cartridges into his webshooters, he left the bunk and headed back toward the cockpit to check on Ned and Flash. Rhodey and Tony were standing near the railing, watching the land below as they came upon the Canyons.

The Canyons were a series of tall rock walls, one right after the other that only increased in height. At the base was a dry, cracked floor. A thin creek trickled through it. During the wet season, it would swell to the size of a river, but now, as summer approached fall, it was very thin. All along the walls were little caves. It was very treacherous terrain, but Peter chose this route with that in mind. There was more to it than how unobvious an approach to Llynder would be from this place. Peter and his crew had done business here several times, and scouted the area enough to know the caves intimately. If something happened, they would be prepared for anything here, as long as the king and his first knight would trust them.

Tony did a double take as Peter passed him. Even Rhodey blinked in surprise.

“Whoa—what’s up with the leotard?” Tony asked, eyebrow raised.

“Tony, that’s armor,” Rhodey hissed.

“You got that right, Rhodey,” Peter replied good naturedly. Rhodey’s jaw dropped for a moment before it snapped shut. Peter wondered if Rhodey forgot how well he could hear.

“What kind of armor is skintight like that?” Tony asked, eyebrows raised. “Gods, you look like you’re in a onesie. And how the hell do you see out of those things?”

Peter rolled his eyes and walked on, ignoring the questions and making his way to Ned and Flash so they could go over the plan. The crew had come to the Canyons so often that they hardly needed it, but Peter was not leaving anything to chance. Not with the cargo they were carrying.

“What’s with the mask?” Tony was following him. Peter glanced back and saw Rhodey was behind him, too. He shrugged in response and made his way to the cockpit, glad he didn’t have to ask them to follow him. It seemed like every request he made was met with resistance, and didn’t want them to be seen. He entered the cabin and shoved Flash who was sitting on a crate near the door, nodding off. 

“Wha—” Flash gasped, wheeling his arms around so he wouldn’t lose his balance. Peter snickered as Flash steadied himself before standing up. He glared at Peter and crossed his arms over his chest. “Rude, Par—” he cut himself off when he saw Tony and Rhodey standing in the cabin as well. “Captain,” he corrected, clearing his throat. Tony raised an eyebrow at that but said nothing. Peter wasn’t too worried if they learned his surname; it was fairly common in his region. That didn’t mean he wanted the very law-abiding knight aboard his ship to have any extra advantages to find him after all this was over. Peter hoped Rhodey would forget about them breaking laws in his kingdom, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

“Sorry, Flash,” Peter said, not apologetic in the least. He approached Ned. Ned grinned up at him, flicking a few switches.

“How does traffic look at the gate?” he asked his engineer. He stared ahead of them, seeing only one other airship that was paused at the watchtower that loomed at the entry of the Canyons. Nearly all the airway routes were guarded by the neighboring kingdoms. The Canyons fell in the jurisdiction of Dies Tubae _,_ and Peter’s crew had done a lot of work for JJ Jameson, who was the elected leader of the city. It was a point in their favor. They were very seldom given a second glance, despite Jameson’s prejudice against followers of _Arania._

“A little busier than normal, but it looks like things are moving smoothly, Captain,” Ned replied. He had insisted on formalities once he saw how much their ages seemed to bother their guests, hoping the professionalism would put them at ease. Peter didn’t have the heart to tell him it wouldn’t work. Besides, it was kind of nice to actually be treated like an authority for once.

“Any idea who’s manning it today?”

Ned blushed a little. “Uh—I think it’s Brant, today.”

Peter nudged him, the smile on his face hidden beneath his mask. “Betty, huh?” he asked slyly. Ned’s blush deepened. “Maybe I should steer, and you should talk to her.”

“Come on Pe—Captain,” Ned said, bristling a little. “We’re just friends.” Peter clapped a friendly hand on his shoulder before turning around. Tony and Rhodey were both looking at him with disbelief.

“So—”

“We’re going through the gate?” Tony asked with an indignant tone. “Right past the watchtower? Gods, kid, why the hell are we waltzing through the front door?” Tony’s volume increased until his voice filled the small cabin.

“Tony, trust me,” Peter said, holding up his hands in a placating way.

“Trust you?” Tony spluttered. “We barely even know you, and now you’re walking us right under the noses of the guards?” He threw his hands up in frustration. “Obadiah would have sent messages to all the watchtowers, Peter!”

“Spider-Man,” Peter corrected.

“What?” Tony said flatly.

“Here, they know me as Spider-Man,” Peter replied with a shrug. He noticed Tony and Rhodey both glance at the spider emblem on his chest.

“Oh great. Spider-Man. You don’t sound like a villain at all,” Tony said sarcastically, arms folded across his chest.

Peter sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Look, Jameson’s people are very well trained. They’ll notice if I try to take an air route through the Canyons that sneaks us past the watch tower,” he said as patiently as he could. “That will make us look suspicious. They aren’t going to suspect any ships that are traveling by legal means.”

“Okay, sure,” Tony scoffed. “So your mask is just for shits and giggles?”

“No, my mask is because that’s how I always come through,” Peter said, shrugging. “Me and Gwen don’t show our faces here.”

“Why—”

“Tony,” Rhodey interjected, placing a hand on the king’s arm. “It’s a good plan.” He turned to Peter. “What do you need us to do?”

“Flash?” Peter asked. Flash grumbled shoved the crate over. He bent down and felt along the crease that the crew knew was there, finding the mechanism to shift the panel out of the way. A large, empty space was revealed.

Flash straightened up and gestured to the hole. “Climb in,” he said. Tony shook his head, but Rhodey grabbed him and pulled him forward.

“You want us to hide in—in that? Are you locking us in?” Tony asked as Rhodey released his arm and climbed down.

“No,” Peter said easily. “There’s this switch,” he said, touching a small hollow on the top of the panel. “You press the button here and it will unlatch the panel, and you can come out on your own.”

“Not if that crate is on top of us!” Tony sounded panicked. Peter wondered if he had a problem with small spaces. That would have been good to know about going in, but there was nothing for it now.

“I’m not moving the crate back over it,” Peter said easily. Flash went to the corner of the cockpit and grabbed a rolled-up mat. “We don’t really need to cover it at all. Unless someone knows what they’re looking for, they can’t find it. We’re going to use that mat as a precaution. You’ll be safe.”

Tony swallowed, glancing between Peter and the hidden space before he let out a breath. Peter was certain he was the only one who could hear how shaky it was. “Okay,” the king said, climbing down next to Rhodey.

“You’ll be out before you know it,” Peter reassured them before he snapped the panel shut. As Flash started to roll out the mat, Peter heard the click of the mechanism being activated. The panel shifted. Peter folded his arms over his chest and tilted his head to the side, staring down at Tony. The king had a somewhat guilty expression on his face.

“Just checking.”

* * *

Betty sighed, waving the ship through, wishing she were on one of the patrol ships today. She tucked her dark brown hair behind her ear, leaning slightly against her spear, trying not to let the boredom get to her. As the next ship started floating through, she smirked. She recognized that hunk of junk.

Once the airship docked and a ramp was lowered, she boarded. Spider-Man was on the deck, hands on his hips. Betty looked behind him and frowned when she didn’t spot Ned.

“Looking for someone?” he asked. She could tell from his voice he was smiling.

Betty straightened up and rolled her eyes. “What, you expect me to be happy talking to you, webhead?” she asked. Spider-Man clutched a hand to his chest.

“My lady, you wound me,” he said, dramatically.

“Where’s Ned?” she asked, moving her spear to her other hand. Spider-Man shrugged.

“He’s piloting today. Sorry, Brant.”

Betty shrugged. “Alright. I suppose we all have our duties. What brings you this way, Spider-Man?”

Spider-Man gestured to several barrels on the deck. “Deliveries. You know, the usual.”

“Can you show me around, masked wonder?” Spider-Man chuckled and walked her through the deck. She peered into each barrel and nodded. The grappling hooks and grain were probably going to the villages on the edges of the Canyons. Spider-Man lead her to Spider-Woman, who was dropping a crate next to some others.

“These were below deck,” she said, panting slightly. “Have to keep them away from weather.” Betty gestured toward the crates and Spider-Man pried the lids off each one. Fabrics, delicate metalwork, and gemstones greeted her. These would be for the merchants.

“You’ve steered me away from that one,” Betty said, pointing back to a barrel they had gone around. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust the children of _Arania._ They were some of the noblest disciples that trained in the temples, and they had never turned their backs on Dies Tubae. Betty knew they were required to hide their faces, especially near their temples, but it still rubbed her the wrong way. She didn’t like being unable to look into someone’s eyes to get a feel for them. She was almost certain they knew it about her discomfort, too, but they reluctantly accepted it.

Spider-Man chuckled and led Betty to the aforementioned barrel, Spider-Woman in tow. He pulled the lid off and she furrowed her brow.

“Gysahl Greens?” she asked, curiously.

“For the Chocobo farms,” Spider-Woman said, adjusting her white and black skirt. Betty had heard that she wore armor underneath that was similar to Spider-Man’s, but she had never seen it.

“Also, there’s a man in Bailesleibhton who uses them, not that we’re heading that way.” Betty wrinkled her nose in confusion. “It’s a town to the west of the mountains. It’s in the Kingdom of Hammerton. He uses these to make pickles, can you believe it?”

“No,” Betty replied, flatly.

Spider-Man shrugged. “They’re pretty good, especially on sandwiches.”

“They smell repulsive, though,” Spider-Woman added, shuddering a little.

“Gysahl pickles,” Betty hummed thoughtfully. “I’ll have to try them out sometime.”

“Next time we go through, we’ll pick some up for you and the guards,” Spider-Woman replied. “This is everything. It was a fairly light load this time.” Betty eyed the crates suspiciously.

“Oh yes,” she drawled. “You haven’t looked busy at all. Care to tell me how you got your hands on such finery?”

Spider-Man shook his head and tapped his nose. “Trade secret, Guardswoman Brant.”

“I’m sure,” she drawled. She looked over to the cockpit. “You’re following code, right? No shenanigans with the engine I need to know about?”

Spider-Man stood still for a second, clearly surprised by her question. She arched an eyebrow.

“Nothing illegal as far as we know,” Spider-Woman said, placing her hands on her hips. “What’s with the third degree today, Betty?”

“Just doing my job, Spider-Woman. Let me ask your engineer and you can be on your way.”

“That seems—”

“Okay,” Spider-Man said over Spider-Woman, folding his arms over his chest. “Geez, if I knew you wanted to talk to Ned so badly, I would have just sent him out here instead.”

Betty blushed. “That—what are you—” she spluttered, leaning back against her spear.

“Come on,” he said, walking towards the cockpit. Betty followed, leaving a giggling Spider-Woman behind her. Spider-Man knocked once on the frame of the door and walked in.

“Hey, lover-boy,” he said, walking over a mat to a crate that sat at the edge of the wall. He sat down and leaned back, crossing one leg over the other and leaning back against his hands. Ned spun around and stared between the two of them, blushing. The mercenary they traveled with seemed more on edge than usual, and kept reaching toward his vest and dropping his hand at her presence. There was one member of their crew that was missing.

“Where’s blondie?” she asked.

“Minding the engine room,” Spider-Man replied. “You’re not here to see him, anyway. Want to take a minute to give Brant a tour, Ned? She only has eyes for you, today.”

“I do not!” she said, flushing furiously. “I just asked a simple question—”

“Sure, sure. Questioning the soundness of my engine, which I’m sure you ask _everyone_ that passes through. Whatever,” Spider-Man shrugged. “I know it’s a unique design. Ned will be happy to take you down to Johnny and show you how it works, right Ned?”

Ned blushed and smiled shyly at Betty, making her pulse race. “Sure,” he replied, standing up. “Would you like to see it, Guardswoman Brant? It’s up to code, but a little unorthodox.” Betty nodded and let Ned lead her from the cockpit to the engine room below deck. A series of ropes and pulleys were rigged up, barely noticeable on deck.

“So normally to do evasive maneuvers and air tricks in a ship this size, we need a much larger crew to operate in this engine room,” Ned said, walking her through the large, pipe-filled room. Several ropes were tied and hooked onto various valves to redirect the steam from one place to another. Johnny sat at a panel near the boiler, adjusting some large wheels.

“All these lines that Johnny is adjusting can be used to steer the ship,” Ned went on. The blond turned around and grinned, waving at Betty. Betty smiled back.

“It’s pretty handy, what Ned and Spider-Man came up with,” Johnny said. “These lines mean we can be all hands on deck in case of an attack or a storm. We just connect them to the wheel and bam, no one needs to be in the cockpit.

Betty frowned. “Why would you get attacked?”

“Not everywhere is as civilized as Terra Regina or Dies Tubae,” Johnny said with a shrug. “There are a lot of kingdoms outside the mountains that attack strangers on sight, and even here, we have to watch out for the Goblin.”

Betty nodded. She had forgotten that the Goblin was a menace to the ships that came to close to his castle. “He hasn’t been as active lately, thank goodness,” she said.

“Yeah, but we’re still on the lookout,” Ned said seriously, leading her out of the engine room. “With a crew as small as ours, you have to be ready, you know? There aren’t enough people to pick up any slack, so we can’t get lazy.”

“Of course,” Betty said, thoughtfully. “That makes sense.”

Ned led her back to the ramp where Spider-Man was waiting for them. Ned nodded at his captain and went back to the cockpit, blushing again as he said goodbye.

“Satisfied?” Spider-Man asked, arms folded over his chest.

“To be honest, I don’t like the way you have things rigged up,” Betty said, bluntly, eyeing one the ropes that had led from the engine room to the cockpit. It was cleverly hidden by the railing of the ship. “It seems like a recipe for disaster. But Spider-Woman was right. There’s nothing illegal about your setup.”

“Glad to know we aren’t breaking any laws,” Spider-Man said, sarcastically.

“Look, Spidey,” Betty said, putting a hand on her hip. “I worry, okay? You need a bigger crew for this ship. We both know that.”

“Is that an offer?” Spider-Man replied cheekily. Betty rolled her eyes.

“I’m pretty happy with my job, thanks. Just, be careful, okay?”

Spider-Man stared at her for a few seconds before nodding. “We’ll do our best, Brant. Are we clear?”

Betty let out a rueful chuckle. “Yeah, all clear. You’re free to go through.” She turned and walked down the ramp back to her post.

“Betty?” Spider-Man called. Betty turned around and raised an eyebrow. Spider-Man scuffed his boot against the deck of his ship. “Thanks. For caring about us.”

Betty smiled. “Someone has to,” she said, clearing her throat. “Besides, you need to make sure Ned comes back to Dies Tubae in one piece.”

Spider-Man nodded. “You can bet on it.”

“See you later, Spider-Man,” she said as he pulled the ramp in. He straightened up and waved as the ship passed through the gate. Betty sighed and looked outward, seeing no one following him, and prepared herself for another monotonous day.

Nothing exciting ever happened in the Canyons.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun Writing Notes:
> 
> 1\. I love the rocky relationship between Peter and Tony. I've been reading and writing Iron Dad lately, so I haven't been getting as much emphasis from that aspect of their interactions as I like. The relationship here is really a mentor/mentee thing, at best. I really want to focus on their flaws as characters, because that's what always interested me when it came to the people from Marvel. 
> 
> 2\. Yes, we have the original Betty Brant, with a brown bob. I'm sure that's a shock to the lovers of the Tom Holland movies. I'm pulling from all of Marvel, here. :-)
> 
> 3\. I'm making up everything you see here about how autopilot works in the airships. My husband told me some stuff about old school planes and autopilot being done with springs and whatnot, so I don't know how believable the mechanics for my ship are. It is what it is, though. I would hope if you're reading a Final Fantasy/Marvel crossover that you're not here for realism. ;-)
> 
> 4\. The followers of _Arania._ The children of _Arania._ I did indeed invent a deity/summon for this story. It will most likely not be the first one, depending on the characters that get introduced. Originals will be present, too. 
> 
> This one is about wrapped up. I think there will be about 2 chapters left, maybe 3 before I start on the next installment. 
> 
> Please leave a kudos if you were entertained, and leave a comment to let me know what you think! Also, you can visit me on Tumblr! I'm [@hanuko,](https://hanuko.tumblr.com/) and would love to hear from you. :-)


	5. Encounter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _“Who’s attacking us?” the knight asked, surprise coloring his tone. “How can anyone know we’re here? We covered our tracks!"_
> 
> _“I don’t think he’s here for you,” Peter muttered._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was one of the first chapters I had planned out, but writing it was hard. Like... just hard. Airships are hard. 
> 
> This is the second to last chapter of this fic, then the next story will begin. 
> 
> Hope you all enjoy!

Tony stood on the deck, staring up at the crows-nest in the predawn light, watching the captain climb down as the mage left the cockpit. Clouds were beginning to gather, and Tony wondered if they would be able to avoid the storm that was brewing over them.

Peter made his way down the mast quickly, meeting Gwen at the bottom. The girl exchanged words with him before stretching and heading to the bunks below. Peter walked towards the cockpit and slipped inside, either unaware of Tony’s presence on the deck, or not caring about it. Tony followed him, intent to ask what he planned to do if the weather turned against them.

It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Peter’s abilities. The young captain had shown himself more than capable in the days they traveled together, but Tony never liked it when things were out of his control. It seemed like everything turned to chaos overnight. He missed his wife and little girl terribly. He worried over the state of his kingdom at the hands of Obadiah. He hoped Doctor Pym would be willing to accept them when they turned up, if that were Rhodey’s plan at all. His first knight still refused to tell him anything. Steering out of a storm might be something he could offer his opinion on, If Peter were willing to listen.

“Hey bug-boy,” he greeted, leaning against the doorframe. Peter was at the wheel, tapping some of the instruments and adjusting some of the ropes tied beneath the console. Tony had finally gotten a chance to look at their engine room and was astounded at the possibilities their get-up presented. Autopilot. _Actual_ autopilot. The method for it was so simple it was perfect.

Peter sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Can I help you, your majesty?” he asked in an irritated tone. The king wondered, not for the first time, how well the kid was sleeping. The circles under his eyes seemed to get darker as the days went on.

“Did you see those clouds?” Tony asked, getting right to the point. Peter had started to show little patience for Tony’s deflection and beating around the bush, and it was too early to start an argument.

“You mean the ones forming that I can do absolutely nothing about?” Peter asked, sharply. So much for avoiding an argument.

“Look kid,” Tony started, but jumped when Peter slammed his hands on the console and whirled around, scowling.

“No, you look, your majesty,” Peter said, furiously. Tony blinked and straightened his spine. “I’ve been really tolerant of you, alright? You paid good money for us to get you where you need to go, and I’m going to deliver, but you have to let me do my job, okay?”

“How am I not letting you do your job?” Tony asked, bewildered.

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe by second-guessing everything I do?” Peter exclaimed, throwing his hands up. “I’ve got enough to worry about without you questioning everything that’s going on!”

“Excuse me?” Tony said, raising an eyebrow. “You do realize I used to run a kingdom, right?”

“Yeah, and that’s worked out so well for you,” Peter replied, flatly.

Tony seethed. “Kid—”

“Gods above, if you call me kid one more time—” Peter cut himself off, looking sharply to the side.

“You are a kid!” Tony shouted. “And I hate that I’m in a position where Rhodey and I have to rely on you and your motley group of pirates! I don’t get a say in the route, where we’re heading, how I have to hide—”

“Shh.” Peter waved a hand at him, gesturing for quiet.

“Excuse me, did you just _shush_ me?”

“Be quiet!” Peter whispered, closing his eyes and settling a hand against the console. “I’m trying to focus.”

“Focus on what?” Tony asked, angry at the quick dismissal he received. When no answer came, he sighed and leaned back against the wall, tapping his foot angrily. Peter stayed still for a full minute, eyes shut, head cocked in the direction of the dark clouds that had formed outside.

Suddenly he jerked up and grabbed the wheel, spinning it sharply as he pulled a lever. The ship veered hard, throwing Tony to the floor. The wind was knocked out of his chest. Moments later, he heard an explosion outside.

“What the hell was that?” he coughed, struggling to get up from the floor. Peter pulled a cord a few times, and the sharp sound of clanging bells could be heard. Peter twisted a knob that held a rope and looped the remainder around the hooks in the steering wheel, then rushed past Tony. Tony followed him onto the deck, stopping just before he crashed into him. Peter was standing very still, but Tony could see his hands were trembling. He looked out in the same direction Peter was as the others started to come up from below deck.

“What is it?” Tony asked, glancing at Peter.

Peter chose not to reply. Instead he swallowed, his whole body shaking. He stared, unblinking, out into the distance. Tony squinted gasped at the sight that rose to greet them.

It emerged from the black clouds like some kind of nightmare; large and looming and too close. A huge, dark purple ship appeared. It’s acid green sails fluttered slightly in the high winds, and it held steady beside them. The body of the airship was slim, designed for clever maneuvers, and Tony could see cannons aimed at them, one still smoking.

“Oh no.” Tony turned to see Ned was now standing on deck, gazing at the ship in front of them. His brown eyes were wide with fear.

“What is it?” Tony asked. Peter stood stock still, refusing to answer him. His lips were pressed tightly together. He didn’t even appear to be breathing. A white and pink blur ran in front of him, skidding to a halt by Peter.

Gwen grabbed his shoulders and shook the young captain, blue eyes fierce and angry. “Peter!” she shouted. “Snap out of it!” Peter gasped and shook his head, attempting to take a step back. Gwen wouldn’t let him. “Come on, it’s him. It’s _him,_ Peter, and none of us know what to do!”

Peter looked down at his friend and nodded. “Right,” he said, shaking himself. Gwen let him go. “Right, sorry. We can’t—we can’t outfly him. There’s no way. Gwen, go get the boards and charges.” Gwen stood still a moment, furrowing her brow and shaking her head. “Now!” At his shout, she ran, heading to one of the doors to a storeroom below. Flash and Johnny ran up, glancing between the dark ship and their captain.

“Ned,” Peter said, curtly. Ned snapped to attention. “I need you to crank the heat. Give me maximum steam.” Tony furrowed his brows. “I want to put as much distance between us and that monster as possible. Once you’ve got it cranked, come back on deck.”

“But Peter, that will put massive pressure on the boiler—”

“I know,” Peter grimaced.

“Okay Pete,” Ned replied, running back to the engine room.

“Johnny—”

“Wheel,” Johnny replied. “I’ll dodge out of the way of those guns, Captain, and buy us some time.” Peter nodded, giving the blond a small smile and watching him run into the cockpit.

“Flash,” Peter said. Flash was glaring at him.

“No way, Peter. If he comes on board, you’re dead if you’re alone.”

“You need to grab the emergency packs we have set up,” Peter said.

“Peter—”

“Flash, if you don’t grab those, we’re _all_ dead. We need to be prepared.”

Flash’s eyebrows went up. “You mean we’re—”

“Yeah,” Peter said, frowning.

“We’re what? What are we doing?” Tony asked as Rhodey ran up to join him, rapidly adding up all the tiny details. An overheated boiler and emergency packs; maybe the strain on the engine would force them to make an emergency landing after they got away from the monster ship next to them. 

“Who’s attacking us?” the knight asked, surprise coloring his tone. “How can anyone know we’re here? We covered our tracks!”

“I don’t think he’s here for you,” Peter muttered, glaring at the other ship. Tony looked back to see a tall figure in green armor—the same nasty green as the sails on the ship—appear at the railing. His helmet was shaped to look like a beast with a sharp toothed grin and a pair of orange, monstrous eyes. Tony took a step back at this man’s appearance, swallowing nervously. The man tilted his head and curled fingers as if he were beckoning them. The boy rubbed at the scar on his neck.

The ship lurched and Tony lost his balance, stumbling into Rhodey. A jet of steam and smoke shot behind them and they pulled away from the green menace.

“Who was that?” Rhodey asked, looking at Peter in alarm.

“The Green Goblin,” Peter replied, shaking himself. “He’s bad. Real bad.”

“Why is he here?” Rhodey said, grabbing Peter’s shoulder. Peter twisted out of the grip, face set in a harsh frown.

“I don’t know!” he exclaimed. “We’re way too far from his territory. There’s no reason for his ship to be here!”

“What do we do?” Tony asked, panicked. “You just said we can’t outfly him.” As if to prove his point, the other ship started to come closer, pushing through the steam cloud left behind their ship. Gwen emerged, carrying five long boards. Flash was right behind her with four very large backpacks on his arms and back. Gwen dropped the boards at Peter’s feet, then helped Flash with his load.

Peter separated the boards, laying them side by side. “Step on the board,” he said, pointing to the empty board at Tony’s feet.

“Why?” Tony asked, shaking his head.

“We don’t have time for this!” Gwen yelled, slotting a round, metal sphere at the end of each board. “Just do what we tell you!”

Tony looked at Rhodey a little helplessly as he stood on the board. Rhodey followed suit. Once they were situated, Peter aimed his hand down at Tony’s feet. Tony noticed his fingers were hovering over a thin metal trigger in the palm of his hand. Peter pressed it several times and a silvery string shot forward from the cuffs he wore, gluing Tony’s and Rhodey’s feet to their boards.

“What the—” Rhodey shouted, trying to pull up his foot. It wouldn’t move. Peter grabbed a knife from his belt and put it in Rhodey’s hands.

“That will dissolve in two hours,” he said, quickly. He picked Rhodey up and pulled him to the edge of the airship just as the Green Goblin’s ship was pulling up beside them. Tony stared at the Goblin across the deck, alarmed as Gwen picked him up and moved him as easily as Peter moved his friend. “Once you’re a hundred yards away the boards should level out and slow down. You’ll be safe to cut the webbing off, but I recommend you wait until you hit the ground.”

“We’re abandoning ship?” Tony asked. A long, metal ramp slid out of the other ship and connected to Peter’s, rocking it when it made contact. Peter sighed and placed his boot on the sphere, frowning.

“We can’t fight him. He’s too strong.”

Tony shook his head. The kid didn’t know he and Rhodey had their armor. “But I can help! I have—”

“There’s no time!” Peter shouted. “Just do what I say. We’ll be right behind you.”

“Time to go,” Gwen said.

“Wait,” Rhodey said, starting to gesture to the housing unit on his chest. The kids didn’t listen. They each kicked a sphere, bringing the boards to life. Circuitry glowed beneath their feet and the boards took off, shooting quickly away from the ship and down towards the ground. Tony attempted to pull his foot up, but it was stuck fast to the board that was speeding away from the airship. As he looked up, he saw two other figures on boards coming after them.

“Rhodey, I think we’re meant to be able to steer these,” Tony shouted, leaning and causing his board to move to the left.

Rhodey stared at him with an incredulous look. He started mouthing something and cupped his ear, making Tony feel like a total idiot.

They weren’t in their armor. They couldn’t communicate, because there was no way to hear each other over the rush of wind in their ears. A bright flame of fire exploded from the cockpit and started falling toward them

Tony sighed as he watched Rhodey start hacking away at the webbing at his feet, wondering what they hell they were supposed to do now.

* * *

Gwen felt her heart pounding against her ribcage as Ned took off after Flash.

“Johnny must have felt the bridge connect,” Peter said, rolling his shoulders. “He’s gonna set course and jump off anytime, now.”

“Peter,” Gwen said, hesitantly. Peter gestured to one of the boards.

“You need to go, Gwen. I’ll keep him occupied until the last minute—”

“Are you crazy?” Gwen shouted. “Peter, you won’t have time to get away before the boiler blows!”

“I’ll be fine,” Peter said, eyes earnest. “Please, Gwen, I just need you to be safe—”

“How sentimental,” a snide, cruel voice said. Gwen spun around to see the green-armored freak standing tall behind them. The face of his helmet was set in a horrifying grin. “Spider-Man worried over his little friend. How sweet.”

“Ugh,” Gwen scoffed, rolling her eyes, “you work hard on your dramatic entrances?”

The man cocked his head at her, reminding her of an overgrown bird. “Ah,” he said, nodding. “You must be the sister.”

Gwen resolved to keep her face steady, refusing to show any emotion. No one knew about the temple children and how they grew together. How many secrets of _Arania_ did he force from Peter? 

“Yes,” the man hissed. “I know all about you, and your little order. So much for the mysterious children of _Arania_. Peter was absolutely _screaming_ about you.”

“Stop it,” Peter growled, crouching low and holding his webshooters in front of him.

“Tsk, Peter,” he mocked, “just because you don’t remember it doesn’t mean it isn’t true.”

Gwen shifted into a fighting position, thinking of a spell to ready that would help Peter. She wasn’t sure if she should try to paralyze him or make him ill. It was impossible to tell what protections were woven into his armor.

“Think fast!” the Goblin shrieked, flinging an orange ball toward them. It exploded in midair and Gwen felt herself fling backwards. Her spine hit the rail of the ship, and she flung over it, falling into the endless sky. As suddenly as it began, it stopped. She was jerked to a halt and hung in midair, clinging desperately to one of Peter’s webs. Peter was leaning over the railing above her, pulling her back towards the ship. Over his shoulder, the Goblin approached.

“Peter!” Gwen shrieked, pointing upward. “Look out!”

Peter took his eyes off her for a moment to see his enemy looming over him. Quick as lighting, his hands covered Peter’s wrists. Peter tired to jerk away, but it was too late. Gwen managed to hear the crush of metal against metal, and she started to freefall again. She plummeted towards the earth below, watching Peter’s eyes latch onto her. They were wide with terror. The Green Goblin was tugging him away from the railing as Gwen fell through the clouds, her vision obscured. She couldn’t survive this fall. There was no way.

This would be the last moment she would ever have with her best friend—her brother. And he wasn’t even smiling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun Writing Notes:
> 
> 1\. This chapter was so freaking hard. Airship fights? Like... how do you realistically make that dramatic and cool? And why worry about realism when it's a FAKE SHIP! Ugh. 
> 
> 2\. Tony and Peter's relationship is much more reminiscent of the comics. Where they... you know... don't like each other. At all. Their relationship is going to change over time, and they'll become friends, but it's gonna take some doing. 
> 
> 3\. I don't know of any sky boards in Final Fantasy, but other than reading some bits and pieces about the games after X, I don't have much knowledge. I really latched onto the idea from Treasure Planet, and modified the boards so they would work without a sail. I'm not sure why Tony hasn't seen one yet. You'd think he would have. 
> 
> 4\. Yes, I am being intentionally vague with Peter's background when it comes to Gobby. Things will be revealed in the next chapter, and as the series goes on. 
> 
> 5\. Don't be mad about Gwen. Read the tags. Breathe with me. 
> 
> Thanks for reading! Please leave a kudos if you were entertained, and a comment to let me know your thoughts! Or, come holler at me over on Tumblr. I'm [@hanuko,](https://hanuko.tumblr.com/) and my inbox is always open!


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